


And After

by strikeyourcolors



Series: Always Been [4]
Category: Batman (Comics), Batman - All Media Types
Genre: Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Baby, Damian Wayne needs supervision, Fluff, Gen, Humor, M/M, Other Ships Not Mentioned in Tags, Raising a Child, Vacation
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-16
Updated: 2019-04-27
Packaged: 2019-05-24 00:26:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,528
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14944173
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/strikeyourcolors/pseuds/strikeyourcolors
Summary: Snippets of life in the universe "True to Me" is set in. Mostly gen, mostly fluff and humor, with some alpha/beta/omega worldviews mixed in. Chapters are usually unrelated.~Chp. 1 ~ The first trip to a well-known theme park is supposed to be a right of passage. It probably still counts even with stroller warfare and someone probably about to get arrested. Hopefully the jail cells are themed.~Chp. 2 ~ Tim and Jason notice something strange about their relationship. It would be worrying...but when has anything ever gone to plan for them?~Chp. 3 ~ Bruce is left alone with his granddaughter for all of five minutes. Ruby reaches an important milestone.





	1. The Happiest Place...

**Author's Note:**

> Have no idea what's going on? Check out [True to Me](https://archiveofourown.org/works/9283895/chapters/21039572) to avoid any spoilers! Also maybe look at the tags.
> 
> I have bits and pieces of what was called "The Ruby Files" for quite a bit. There's a few circulating so I'm collecting them here. It's all stuff in this universe that wasn't long enough for its own story since people seemed to want to see more behind the scenes stuff. Not all of them will be Ruby-centric but a good deal will be. A few of these are ancient prompts so let me know if they were yours!

Jason pushes the stroller like a man on a mission. It's a rental stroller, and Tim is glad because there's no way the stroller they have at home would have held up to the way Jason steers through the crowds. He's clipped it on a few posts, a corner of a building, and he's sent it careening into a steel fence. That's not even counting the ankles he's slammed into. 

Ruby, fortunately, has not been in the stroller for any of these incidences. She rides happily enough in a front-facing sling on Tim's chest. Of course, she's also nearly nine months old and hauling around her extra weight is embarrassingly difficult for him, given his line of work. He has to move slowly, has to mind her feet and prevent her from kicking him anywhere delicate when she wiggles in excitement at seeing something interesting. There are a lot of interesting things to see in a theme park that is the size of a small city (and just as populated, in Tim's opinion) and so he feels like he has his hands constantly on her feet. 

That leaves Jason to push the stroller, which for the most part has become a glorified shopping bag holder. It at least has two cupholders, and a place for snacks, which Dick and Damian are abusing without mercy. "You've all been through rough times," Tim says mockingly, quoting Bruce. "Take a vacation. You'll love it. Ruby will love it." 

"She looks like she loves it," Jason replies and Tim glares at him. It's one of the more crowded points of the day and they've taken refuge at a table, splitting a gigantic cupcake and some lemonade. Most of what Tim's done on vacation is eat, he's pretty sure. Ruby, however, is for once sitting happily in her stroller and avidly watching a balloon vendor wander around. She's sucking on her hand, a sure sign she's hungry, but as long as she's not screaming then Tim isn't going to bother. He dreads the process of feeding her here. He ended up wearing most of her banana blueberry puree when she flailed in joy at a mascot-dog waving at her. Stupid dog. Stupid magical encounters. 

"It's crowded," Tim notes at last. "Going to be hard to get the stroller basically across the park to meet Dick and Dami by the time they're finished with the roller coaster. We need a plan." 

"I've been thinking about that," Jason says. "I'm glad you agree. I was thinking maybe some razor blades around the wheels. A shiv in the front? That might encourage people not to attempt to dart in front of me." 

Tim stares at him, but he can't even say it's a bad idea with this many people around them. "What about the little kids?" Those, he's found, are the worst offenders. They jump into the path of the stroller uncaringly, they come to a dead halt right where you're walking, and they are absolutely fascinated by Ruby. It's not really their fault; they don't know better and aren't purposefully performing these dangerous and entirely annoying stunts. Tim kind of wishes he'd learned Bruce's bat-glare for their parents, though. 

"Only takes one to make an example of for the others," Jason replies with a shrug. Tim knows Jason would never actually dream of hurting the kkids, but he certainly sympathizes. Ruby's already had the princess shoes Barbara got her pulled off her feet at least three times and nearly been crushed by other kids trying to sit in her stroller twice. It might explain the aversion to being in it. 

At last, she starts to whine. Jason scoops her up with one arm, easily settling her on his lap. With his bulk, he can shield her from most of the external stimuli. Tim takes the hint and pulls out a little jar of Alfred's custom made baby food for her. He scoots the stroller so it blocks more of her view, and since he's directly in front of her, he can block it there as well. Jason spoons food into her mouth and wipes her chin like he was born knowing how to do it. Tim's a little envious, but also convinced his earlier failure attributes to Jason's success. 

"Dick said he'd watch her tonight if we wanted to come back and ride some more things," Tim says. "Do you want to?"

"I'd rather ride you," Jason says so casually that Tim almost misses it, then he chokes on his drink of lemonade. He looks desperately to Ruby, who continues smacking her lips around the spoon Jason holds. "Oh, stop it you prude," Jason tells him with a smirk. "It's not like she understands and no one else can hear us. We're not going to be the kind of parents that invent cute nicknames for her junk are we?"

"Junk might be a nickname," Tim points out, licking a little bit of icing from his finger. Totally to test it for Ruby's enjoyment, of course. 

"Junk is a euphemism. Very different." Jason spoons more food into her mouth, avoiding her attempts to grab for the spoon. He pries it from her fingers when she finally grabs hold and she starts to cry as he takes it away. Of course, he only puts it under the table and the minute it is out of sight, Ruby continues chewing. The next scoop of food into her mouth is easy enough. "I'm still amazed that works," Jason notes. "Just...putting something she wants out of her field of vision and she stops wanting it." 

"Babies don't know about object permanence," Tim replies. "She thinks when she can't see it that it doesn't exist. Enjoy that while it lasts because any day she's going to start remembering when we take things away from her for longer than a few seconds. I imagine she's going to get a lot more stuff in her mouth at that point." 

"Bruce let her eat a receipt," Jason argues. "We can't do much worse than that." 

"Cat litter," Tim replies with a shrug, reaching forward to dab at Ruby's cheek before she slings food anywhere else. "This guy in my parenting group accidentally let the baby get into the cat litter." 

"Ew!" Jason shifts Ruby to let her stand on his thighs. She seems basically done with the jar of baby food, letting whatever he puts in her mouth dribble back out. "I say I don't like to judge other parents because we all have our share of fuck ups, but I'm judging other parents." 

Tim grins. "Never would have guessed." He finds some wet wipes to clean their daughter up with, following that with some sunscreen. Ruby scrunches her face, writhing, but it isn't the screaming fit she'd had the first time they tried it. He pauses as he hears the crackle of an earpiece, left for the time being on a table nearby. The guy at the table had seemed half asleep, yet another worn out parent waiting for his kids and spouse to return from some store or ride. Seeing him leap to attention, Tim decides he must be security.   
It's confirmed when he hears the request. "We have a Code...I don't even know what. Some kid is trying to surf the roller coaster cars in the space ride. We need security!" There's a pause as the man is trying to arrange wires to pop the earpiece in. “He's good at it! That's the problem!”

“You don't think,” Tim begins when the guy takes off at a sprint across the park. “I mean. He's too old for that. Best behavior. And he's with Dick.”

“How do you know Dick's not the one doing it?” Jason asks. “All those lights? The music? He might think he's at the circus.” He calmly puts the lid back on the empty jar of baby food and licks the spoon clean himself before putting it back in the diaper bag. Tim might try to do the bulk of the parenting as the birthing parent, but Jason will always be more organized with Ruby's care. Everything moves so fluidly for him. Even when Damian Wayne may or may not be surfing roller coaster cars. “I vote we go gawk at them and pretend to not know them if it comes up. I still want to ride things tonight.” 

“Dick can't watch the baby if he's in jail!” Tim lets Jason burp Ruby, giving her one last wipe off before he puts her back into the stroller and starts strapping her in. They're going to have to hurry and the stroller is the best way to move her. 

Jason is grinning as he finishes the last bite of cupcake and last sip of lemonade. “Look, either Goldie or Demonspawn might get banished, but not both. So we leave her with whoever makes it out of this incident. Problem solved.” 

Tim starts to move behind the stroller, but Jason nudges him out of the way. He glowers. “Damian would trade her for some of those pins he's obsessed with! And Dick probably is going to feed her cotton candy after her bottle. We need both of them to balance out the poor babysitting choices.” 

He wants to argue some more, but Jason's brisk trot is more like a gallop for Tim to keep up. He can hear Ruby shriek in joy, because she apparently is like her father and lives for careening at high speeds in wheeled vehicles, but he's regretting his last bite of cupcake as it bounces around in his stomach. “You said you were going to be easy going,” Jason reminds him when they come to a bottleneck of people. “Then you realized you weren't and swore to turn over a new leaf. Then you didn't. Then you thought-”

Tim kicks him in the back of the leg. It goes unnoticed in the crowd of people all heading out one narrow exist. “I know what I said!” He hisses. “You try having all these hormones and reading all these reasons you're a terrible parent and then not being super uptight!”

“I have similar hormones and I am loose and relaxed and- MOTHERFUCKER!” Jason has to stop short, wrenching the stroller to the side as someone stops directly in front of them. “This is a pathway! Move to the side if you have to come to a dead stop, dumb ass!”

Dick and Damian might not be the only people getting thrown out of the park today. Tim can understand Jason's frustration, especially considering that an impact like that could possibly hurt Ruby.”You keep promising you'll stop swearing and then you're right back to it,” Tim murmurs teasingly as they finally manage to get into the hub of the park. “Hypocrite.” 

Which, naturally, is when they spot two familiar black heads of hair slinking through the crowd toward them. Damian stays low, Dick goes high, but they instantly circle the stroller like it is their safety net. “Give me your hat,” Dick murmurs, already rummaging through the basket of the stroller for it. 

“I will be requiring this for a moment,” Damian adds, already trying to unbuckle Ruby from the stroller. “Only until the heat dies down.” 

“No stroller rides!” Tim snaps. “You're way too old! The stroller is for babies.” 

“That's not what you said this morning when I was telling you how nine year olds in strollers are a disgrace to mankind,” Jason singsongs, still with the smile that Tim loves and also wants to slap off of him. 

Dick sticks an overly large sunhat on his head and follows it up with sunglasses. Damian simply crouches low, hiding himself between the stroller and Jason's legs. It's subtle, but Tim's trained enough to notice plain-clothes security doing a sweep. “What would possess you to go roller coaster surfing?” Tim asks. 

“Was it fun?” Jason adds with a grin that means he's definitely doing this just to annoy Tim. “I bet the jail cells here are themed.” 

“None of us need to find out,” Dick claims. “It was all just a misunderstanding. Damian thought that his hat had flown off his head and he screamed so I jumped up reflexively to retrieve it...”

“It didn't fly off,” Damian corrects. “I removed it and threw it away. It was a terrible novelty item.” 

“I know you love it,” Dick replies, utterly unconvinced Damian would do exactly as he said. “Oh look! Pretzels!” 

Tim grimaces a little. “Jason will go with you to get a couple. I'm going to take Damian into that store over there until the heat dies down. It's probably best you avoid one another for a little while.” 

“You will take me nowhere, Drake,” Damian answers, sneering at him which is kind of impressive since he's still basically Ruby-level height crouched down as he is. “However I would like to go peruse the goods to see if anything will be an adequate souvenir.”

“I'm only getting a pretzel if we can go play that space game where you shoot the targets. I bet I can whip your ass at it,” Jason tells Dick. Tim's pretty sure Jason can whip Dick's ass too, and the guns aren't detachable so there's no danger of anyone getting pistol whipped via space blaster. 

“Deal,” Dick says. But his gaze turns to Tim and he slings an arm around his shoulders. “I'm sorry, Timmy. We're kind of ruining your first family vacation, aren't we?”

Tim snorts, gazing down to where Ruby has her hands in Damian's t-shirt and is babbling intensely at him. He's watching her seriously, like he can understand every garbled non word. He reaches to unstrap her and lift her up, pretty sure the babbling is displeased at missing out on the action. “I've actually had way worse vacations. This is one of the better ones,” He informs Dick. Then he waves. “Say bye bye to Daddy, Ruby.” 

Ruby frowns. Dick waves at her enthusiastically, and Jason reluctantly does so as well. Tim holds his hand out flat, flicking his wrist from side to side so she can observe the motion. “Bye bye. See you soon,” He repeats. 

Then she lifts her hand. She doesn't have her joint locked or her fingers spread, but she slowly rotates her wrist. Her brow furrows as she watches Tim, and she tries again. 

“She's waving!” Dick yells, delighted, drawing more attention than Jason appreciates. At least most of the looks they garner are indulgent. 

Jason beams. But then he clears his throat. Tim knows tonight in privacy he's going to have Ruby waving over and over again. He's simply more private about it in front of the others. Tim's come to respect that too. “Let's meet back here in an hour,” Tim decides before Dick ends up snatching Ruby away from him. “Damian, push the stroller. And don't mow anyone down. The stroller is not a weapon.” 

“But it could be,” Damian murmurs. Tim hopes he's joking as he follows behind him with Ruby on his hip.


	2. Accidental

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tim and Jason notice something strange about their relationship. It would be worrying...but when has anything ever gone to plan for them?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This fluff has been floating around my computer for over a year, hoping to be incorporated into a larger story. Alas, it was not, and so here it is. Relatively short, relatively sweet, and PG rated. What happened to me? 
> 
> Chronologically, this takes place after Chapter 1 in this fic. It would, however, contain spoilers for any other earlier installments in this series.

It's the second sleepless night spent away from home. Away from home on Wayne Enterprises business, not vigilante business, so it's not like he's patrolling or worrying over some major world threat. He simply can't sleep. The hotel room, nice as it is, sets Tim's nerves on edge. He turns off the lights and crawls into bed and feels...ill at ease. Uncertain. 

He needs sleep to sit through the meetings tomorrow. He needs to pay attention, he needs to make sure everything falls into place for their company. He can't when he lies awake, staring at nothing, feeling the prickling on the back of his neck like something is wrong. It's omega hormones going crazy. Logically he knows that. Ruby is fine whenever he calls to check in on her. Jason is recovering from a bullet wound to one of his thighs and thus is relatively grounded. It's four days away from home and Tim's been away over a week without feeling like this, in the past. 

It's in the early morning hours as he repacks his suitcase for maximum load distribution that he finds the answer. It comes in the form of one of Jason's t-shirts, stubbornly clinging to a pair of Tim's socks. He must not have seen it in his haste to pack. Instantly he can tell it hasn't been washed; the scent of Jason overwhelms him. It's been lingering on his clothes, at the edge of his senses, and this is why. 

The shirt is pressed to his face before he realizes it. He huffs it, relishing the scent of Jason's deodorant and the laundry detergent they use and the smell that is uniquely Jason. When he has a scent at all, this is the one that Tim recognizes most. Responds to the most. It makes him feel warm and comfortable, like the closet might not open up to reveal a monster, like a villain won't come crashing in through the large window on one wall. 

He's swapping his own sleeping shirt out for it after only a few minutes. The fabric is soft, well-used because Jason doesn't believe in throwing things out until they are completely worn out and even then he tries to repurpose them. It hits Tim mid-thigh and it's laughably large on him but he doesn't mind. It's comfortable. It's home. It makes him feel _safe_ and he's soon relaxed enough to crawl into bed for another try at sleep. 

He's almost late for an appointment in the morning, he sleeps so well. He's also rested enough to puzzle through the why of it. He's been traveling like this before and after Ruby was born. He's never suffered from homesickness. He's not worried about his child or particularly worried about business (now that he's had enough sleep) and yet he still can't explain the unsettled feeling he has that's only settled by the scent of Jason. 

Scent-therapy isn't uncommon. Ruby has small blankets from both her parents that they scent before they leave her for any length of time so she feels secure even if their presence is missing for a few days. But children grow out of that need and it's only seen again in times of high emotional stress. Tim still remembers after his mother died when he went into her closet, desperately trying to remember her scent only to find she'd been gone too long and the housekeeper had been too thorough. 

He's not under emotional stress this time. He's not close to a heat. 

...it might be possible he's accidentally mated himself to Jason Todd. 

~*~*~  
Things are always strange without Tim around. They function, as well they should because Tim isn't the only person capable of raising a child and Jason's more than happy to take his share of it, but it's still strange. There's a feeling of walking on eggshells, of waiting for the other shoe to drop, and he has no idea why. Ruby's happy and easy to manage even with a one inch thick wrapping of gauze around his thigh. Their home is clean and in order. 

It still feels odd. Jason finds he's carrying Ruby more than normal, huffing her hair even as she squirms to get away because she's crawling now, not far from walking, and eager to explore her new mobility. He'd normally write it off to a swing in his hormones toward omega function. But all the other harbingers of that are missing except that his nose constantly feels like he's trying to scent something that has long since faded away. 

In the grocery store aisle for babies, surrounded by omegas, Jason finds he's sniffing a little as he tries to select Ruby's newest culinary adventure. Alfred frowns and makes her the bulk of her food, but he can't really replicate chemical rice cereal like Ruby seems to prefer. The scents swirl around him. Spice from this one, lavender from another, and he realizes he's mentally trying to recreate Tim. Other omegas don't smell bad to him, exactly. They smell wrong. Incompatible. 

It's not something he's noticed before. He keeps his nose to himself the rest of the shopping trip, ignoring the curious looks he always gets because he looks like he could rip the baby with him in half with his bare hands. 

It's like an itch under his skin. Like he's wearing a sweater a size too small and can't manage to claw it off. He doesn't understand it in the least. It's eased a little when he sleeps on Tim's side of the bed. More still when he spills some of his bodywash in the shower. 

So he's relieved when Tim arrives home on a red-eye flight looking no worse for the wear. There's the reek of air travel all over him, mostly because he's declared using the private plane in such situations to be too wasteful to avail himself of, but beneath that he smells _warm_ and _soothing_ in a way that Jason can't quite place. It makes him relaxed to his core, and he wraps his arms around Tim and presses his nose to the crown of his head. 

Jason, meanwhile, has made Tim's toes curl in his shoes. He slips them off to dig his toes against the carpet instead, needing some sensation to balance out the scent of Jason suddenly all around him. He inhales deeply, right against the base of the other man's throat. “You feel it too, then,” He notes and tries to laugh at it. It's difficult when he feels like he's a magnet and he's permanently stuck to Jason.

“Don't know what you're talking about,” Jason protests. “I'm glad you're home though. Security system goes off every time I walk through the door with the baby and a bag of groceries. Says my weight is off. I think Ruby was starting to wonder where you were, too. You can't keep running off to secure Grandpa's empire.” 

Tim just shakes his head and pulls Jason down for a kiss. Jason calms frayed nerves. He feels safe, finally. Like there aren't eyes on his back. “I'll fix the security system,” Tim murmurs. “It's probably reading you wrong. Ruby will be happy to see me but she understands I go away sometimes.” He steals another few kisses. “Bruce's empire is still my responsibility and I'll see it through. “

Greetings made, they move about their tasks. Tim goes into Ruby's room to sneak a kiss from his sleeping daughter, then goes to unpack. Jason runs a load of laundry then encourages him to eat something. Still, no matter their tasks, they keep gravitating toward one another. Tim's senses hum pleasantly in proximity to him, lulled back into peace by the scent of his home, of Jason. Of _his mate_. 

It's unusual to mate bond. A lot of couples marry and live happily without bothering. The mate bond is annoying. It doesn't always take and it commonly causes problems with any degree of separation, as it's already begun to. Tim wasn't aware that an omega could bond with anyone other than an alpha. He also wasn't aware that a mate bond could form without either party trying for it. There are million dollar industries devoted to helping couples mate bond when their own attempts don't take. There are other industries focused on how the mate bond is an archaic, primitive thing left over from when society was less civilized. Tim's never been strongly in either camp; he believes in letting people work out their own relationships. 

Apparently their relationship has worked itself out without their agreement. Tim would be pissed off if it wasn't so bizarre. “We should talk,” He says at last. Ruby isn't sleeping through the night. Judging by when Jason put her down, she'll wake up in a couple of hours. 

“Alright,” Jason drawls, but he has that troubled and defensive look in his eyes. One that looks like something is about to be ripped away from him. Tim hates putting that look on his face. He reaches out to take his hand and squeeze it. 

“It's nothing bad,” He assures him. “At least I don't think so.” He barely waits until they are on the couch before he blurts it out. “I think we're bonded. Mate bonded.” 

It's clear from Jason's expression that he knows what it is. It's also clear nearly instantly that Jason is afraid to believe him. “I never tried to bond with you,” Jason replies quickly. “I swear. Can it even happen like that?”

There are forced mate bonds. Tim's only ever read about them in long-term, abusive situations. His stomach rolls uncomfortable that Jason would think he needs to defend himself from the accusation. “No. I mean. I don't think you tried to do anything like that to me. And I never tried with you. But I think it still happened. I haven't really had the time to devote to research but a preliminary glance seems to suggest that spontaneous mate bonds can happen. It's actually where the idea of soul mates first manifested.”

Jason considers. It does feel like his soul hurts when he's far away from Tim. It's...kind of troubling, actually. “What if one of us has to go further than across the country? What if it's for longer and we're still like this?” It could cause a real problem. 

But Tim just grins. “You felt it too.” He's victorious. Teasing. But he grows serious soon enough, because it does present an issue. “Maybe it's just because it's a new bond? Or something?” He's hopeful on that, because really “I don't want to break it just because it's inconvenient. I mean, it's kind of amazing. We made this really intense connection that some people try for for years and we didn't even realize it.” 

Relief and affection are prominent in Jason's expression and Tim leans to kiss him. Jason nuzzles in return and for a moment they stay like that. Mingling scents, relaxing in their united front. “I'll look into it,” Tim promises. “Purely for practical reasons because, like you said, things like that are a possibility for us. But don't ever think I'm not happy or that I don't want this.”

Jason wraps his arms around him and Tim snuggles up against him. He's almost amazed by how good it feels, just pressed against the warmth of Jason's body and surrounded by his scent. Or non-scent. Something in him triggers Tim to relax, anyway. “Tell me about your trip,” Jason instructs lazily. So Tim does just that. They stay that way until Ruby wakes up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love prompts, especially for this series, so keep them coming. You can leave them in a comment here or [here](http://strikeyourcolors.tumblr.com/ask)!


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bruce is left alone with his granddaughter for all of five minutes. Ruby reaches an important milestone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry, I have a ton of these and they are much quicker to post than stand-alone fics!

“You're sure you can handle this?” Tim asks for what has to be the tenth time. “I mean, a lot is going on right now with her. And you're all alone here. And if something happens and the Bat signal goes off? You can't dump her in a play pen or let a robot watch her or anything.” 

Bruce refrains from rolling his eyes. Sometimes he thinks his children find him completely stupid. “Alfred just went to the grocery store, Tim. Not to Mars. He'll be back within an hour.” Tim looks at the clock, clearly trying to decide if he can wait out the hour. “Really,” Bruce repeats. “I think I can handle Ruby for an hour.” 

“Only think?” Tim counters. “Seriously. She crawls now. Everything she finds goes in her mouth. She's basically an electrocution waiting to happen because she also drools everywhere. And she's terribly cranky because she's teething.” He looks down at his daughter who is sitting by his feet almost angelically, belying his description of her as a demon. 

Bruce sighs, standing up to come near his granddaughter. He hefts her up and onto his hip, refusing to show any traces of awkwardness. “We'll be fine. Go have a date.” 

But still, Tim hesitates. “You know I wouldn't ask except...well no one else is available. And I completely forgot we'd even scheduled a day just the two of us and I feel kind of like a jackass. I don't want you to feel like you have to-” 

“Tim,” Bruce repeats. “Go. I am thrilled to be able to spend some time with Ruby and Alfred will be back shortly in case I have any trouble.”

Tim leans forward and headbutts Bruce, then kisses Ruby solidly before rubbing his cheek against her. “Behave yourself,” He urges her and then he takes off without a word, or even a look back. Tearing himself from the situation like ripping a bandaid off quickly instead of peeling it back. 

Ruby seems used to this behavior, and totally unfazed by being left with her grandfather alone. She pats his cheek, rubbing a soft hand against the stubble he'd forgotten to shave this morning. Ruby is an oddly touch-fascinated child. She doesn't seem to care about scents, which is rare for a child her age or so Bruce has read, and he wonders if Jason's ever changing one might have something to do with that. He just takes it as a sign of Ruby's uniqueness. “Well,” He says to her. “What shall we do for an hour?”

She wiggles to be put down so he places her on the rug. He's at least in the room they use most often for lounging. Ruby immediately starts to crawl and she is _extremely_ fast now. She makes it to the curtains before Bruce realizes what she's doing, grabbing on to them to try to haul herself to her feet. The heavy fabric of the drapes is perfect for her to climb, and the curtain rod secured after years of rough housing in this room resulting in it falling on people's heads. 

He doesn't expect her to be so good at it. She scales the curtains like she was born to do it and, with her parentage, maybe she was. She climbs easily, but she tires quickly with only her arms to pull her up. He snags her before she gets far enough to hurt herself and there is instantly a pout on her face. “Really,” He comments. “I don't know why your Papa doesn't trust me with you. I've had you to myself plenty of times before.” 

Those times were when she was less mobile. Usually they were for show, for his Brucie image at parties with someone hovering anxiously in the wings, ready to take her back. He hasn't raised any of his children from babies, that much is true. He's still read a good number of parenting books and even watched a few instructional videos. He's observed Alfred and, surely, if he can be trusted with the fate of Gotham City he can be trusted with an infant. 

Ruby leans forward into his arms and he's touched for a moment before he realizes that she has his lapel pin in her mouth. Her lips have closed around the gold WE logo nearly instantly and he gently pries her loose...only for the pin back to drop off and the pin to go further into her mouth, no longer attached to anything. 

“Don't swallow,” He tells her, horrified and tipping her forward. His finger pushed quickly into her mouth and she squawks in outrage, gnawing on him with enough power in her little jaws that he almost yelps. The pin is still there, in her cheek, and he sweeps it out without stabbing her with it. A victory, and one no one needs to know about. Tim had said _everything_ went into her mouth and he can already hear the lecture he would get once the all clear was given for her swallowing a piece of kind of pointy metal.

What has the world come to, wonders Bruce, when he fears his children because they have children of their own? It's not like he's Dick, who drew a Nightwing symbol on her in permanent marker when she stayed with him for an hour. And he hasn't already tried to teach her ninja skills like Damian has. Really, he's one of the more reasonable choices for babysitter. 

Well, he thought he was. Until he hears the doorbell ring. He's confused for a moment until it occurs to him. Clark. He asked him over to discuss League business more casually. And probably with him, Diana. 

Well, it's not like they don't know. He totes Ruby to the front door, draping her over his shoulder like she's armor instead of a child. He opens the door casually, but both sets of eyes from his visitors are instantly glued to her. “Her father had an emergency,” Bruce explains in a way that hints he really should need no explanation. 

“Nothing serious, I hope?” Clark asks and it's clear he's listening for Tim already. 

“He went on a date,” Bruce admits. Tim's not the only forgetful one, these days. “Come in,” He offers, because really their business shouldn't take that long. 

“By Hera,” Diana breathes. “Such a lovely little girl. May I?” Her hands are already on Ruby despite the request, and the baby goes without more than a curious mewl to Wonder Woman, who instantly begins marveling over her tiny hands. 

“She looks like you,” Clark informs Bruce as he strokes one finger over her dark curls. 

Bruce groans. “Don't start. I swear her father has a miniature aneurysm any time anyone says that and Tim might sue you for slander.” Most of the rumors have died down as a result. Bruce doesn't want to risk beginning things again. 

Diana is wiggling Ruby back and forth happily. “Look what powerful legs! You will be a warrior for certain. A short-sword would be best.” She looks to Bruce. “When is her birthday?”

“Please don't give my granddaughter a short sword,” Bruce monotones, but he's actually thinking it might be a decent idea. He doesn't want to create another Damian but there could be no harm in her knowing how to protect herself. Not with who her parents are.

Both Superman and Wonder Woman are distracted with the infant, and Bruce wonders how they would fair in a battle with her nearby. Of course he knows, logically, that they can focus themselves. It's simply so odd to see them in this situation. Maybe not so much Clark. He's made his love of children quite known and insists that since she's named after his teenage clone that it makes him an uncle or something. Bruce has refrained from asking if it's Uncle Clark or Uncle Superman and not pointed out how long it will be before Ruby can understand his relation to Conner, let alone to her. “We had matters to discuss,” Bruce reminds them. “We can begin and Alfred should be along shortly to collect Ruby.”

Clark is being given his turn holding said baby, who looks completely confused now and keeps tipping her head back to find Bruce. Drool is running from the corner of her mouth and Clark wipes it away without a second thought. Bruce is a little jealous, actually, of the easy way he handles Ruby. He never acts disgusted. Bruce even bets that he wouldn't let her almost swallow a pin off his lapel. 

“Mister Kent, Miss Prince. I do apologize for my absence. I was unaware of your appointment.” Alfred's crisp tone cuts in, and the look he gives Bruce is mildly displeased. They all know who is responsible for failure to inform the butler of their gathering. “I will take charge of Miss Ruby if you would like to retire to your study, Master Bruce, and I will serve beverages shortly. Will you be taking coffee or tea?”

“Coffee,” Clark says meekly, offering Ruby out to Alfred who scoops her up. It makes Ruby grin and nestle against the older man. Diana nods her agreement along with Bruce before heading in the direction of his study. The sooner this is over with the sooner he can focus on getting competent parenting tips for an over eager, teething infant. 

Alfred deposits Ruby in her usual seat as soon as he is in the kitchen. He chats to her about his trip to the market, about the appetites of all the young men who come and go in the house, and about how her grandfather isn't frightened of her, he is simply unsure of himself. Ruby, for her part, watches him intensely and chews on her fingers no matter how many times Alfred guides them out of her mouth. 

He puts her on the floor when the coffee service is ready, letting her crawl behind him as he returns to the study to serve. It's a frequent occurrence, actually, for him to allow his young charge to trail after him. It gives her exercise and improves her coordination, as well as keeping her out of trouble. She sits and patiently waits for him to distribute the cups of coffee, paying no mind to their visitors, and she follows him back out of the room. He expects it. 

What he doesn't expect, however, is her pulling herself up when they get to the kitchen. She uses the side of a cabinet to haul herself unsteadily to her feet and she grins at Alfred immediately, bouncing and offering him a happy, eager coo. “Very good, Miss Ruby,” He compliments her as he washes out the coffee pot. “In no time at all, you will be walking.” 

She seems to take this as a personal challenge, because she lets go of the cabinet. Alfred watches, breath held, as she lifts one foot. Then she steps. Once, and again, without tipping over. She makes it all five baby steps over to his leg, wrapping herself around it with a joyful sound of accomplishment and he can't help but beam proudly. He takes a moment to dry his hands before picking her up, lifting her over his head and placing a kiss on her forehead. “Very well done! In preparation for your parents, I expect.” 

Ruby smiles. She's a relatively quiet child, of few words despite her vocabulary being quite extensive. “We shall just not tell them of this moment until after you have walked for them,” Alfred decides. He would never want to rob any of his boys of something as cherished as seeing their child's first steps. He's entertained notions from all of them through the years, of how different things might have been were he able to raise them from a younger age. With Ruby he can, and he's grateful. 

Then she reaches for a coffee cup, trying to get it to her face. Truly her father's child in that, Alfred thinks wryly. “Well, then,” Alfred says when he's finished the washing for the time being. “Shall we dust?”

She crawls after him. Alfred makes a note of the time and decides an hour will be the appropriate time to interrupt Bruce's meeting if it is still going on. He will return Ruby to his care. Spending time together is the first part of being a good parent, after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This came from a prompt I got on [tumblr](http://strikeyourcolors.tumblr.com/ask) so feel free to request as well! Reviews, comments, and prompts always loved and they can be dropped there or below. Thanks for reading.

**Author's Note:**

> Loosely based on taking the nine-month old to a theme park that shall not be named. Good times were had by all. Want a specific thing? Want to give me a prompt for this series or something else? Drop it in the comics or hit me up [here](http://strikeyourcolors.tumblr.com/ask). Thanks!


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